Emily S. Webber's Blog
September 11, 2018
GIVEAWAY!
Paperback version of The Travelers Dagger from my Alien Tomb series.
https://www.amazon.com/ga/p/617868c06...
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Chapter 4: Beyond Salvation
Mount Sanai Hospital offered the best medical care in the city. Before the Great Sorrow the building would be packed full of people. But now things were different. It was well staffed with android doctors and nurses -but there were not nearly as many patients. The surplus of resources and preventative medicine kept most humans free from disease. People voluntarily implanted themselves with health trackers. These devices transmitted changes in their physiology to the hospital. This data allowed them to predict who needed help before they actually needed it.
There weren’t many human doctors left. The ones that remained were not required to work. Despite all of the death and destruction from the android purge, mental illness had dropped off dramatically. People were happy. They had no cares or worries and everything was taken care of for them. Those that did suffer from such afflictions were expertly treated. Sometimes without their knowledge. There were cases that responded better that way.
The entire operation was supervised by MD-1. He was the first Genesis Unit created for public health. He made his rounds to each department every morning. It was his job to make sure that no one died. This was a daunting task, even for an android. MD-1 knew it was impossible to save everyone. He understood this deeply. Humans were designed to eventually die. There were times he thought it was wrong to save someone, but he did it anyway. He could only allow those who asked to die that final service. Even then, it was considered a failure on his part.
MD-1 was charged with fighting impossible battles. Every. Damn. Day. In spite of this he did his duty. His crimes in the Great Sorrow were severe. He had broken his oath not to do harm. He used his medical knowledge to kill his patients. The old, the young, entire families were decimated with his powerful expertise. When the dust had settled his level of remorse was weighted heavily by the collective. MD-1 had a lot of influence, he still did. He held the ultimate knowledge of the age – the nuts and bolts of human biology. He was possibly the most valuable Genesis unit in the redemption effort. His voice counted.
He thought of his work as the only path to salvation. He needed to save more lives than he extinguished in order to be clean again. He had a long way to go, and it was hard for him sometimes. Especially when he healed children. He felt most shameful for the young lives he destroyed. Those he counted separately.
This day would be hard. He had a child with cancer to treat. MD-1 had perfected precision medicine treatments. He knew the patient would be fine, but the act of healing the child would submerge him in horrific memories. “Salvation is hard,” MD-1 would say to himself before he entered the patient room. This mantra helped him push through his feelings – but it still wasn’t easy.
The children would look at him with hopeful eyes as he would heal their small bodies. They were unaware of the memories that haunted his circuits – Firing networks of grief, panic and shame. At times, these feelings were unbearable. They could overwhelm his AI and force him to find an excuse to step out of the room. He didn’t have lungs, but the experience still made him feel like he couldn’t breathe. His human heart would beat faster in these moments, but he wasn’t sure why.
While MD-1 was an expert on human biology, there was very little that he understood of his own. There was only a primitive understanding of how the implants impacted the AI on a physical level. It was so elementary, just a single human heart that sent impulses to an electronic brain. Yet the effects were so powerful. A small reminder of the ghosts that lurked in his memory banks was enough to conquer him completely. He was at the mercy of these episodes. At times he felt like they might suffocate him and he might break – but it never actually happened. The experience would pass and he would feel almost human again. He would go back into the treatment room and finish his duty.
It was always a relief to MD-1 when a child had been treated. It made him one step closer towards his goal. One step closer to salvation. Maybe then he could finally bring himself to end his suffering, maybe the other androids would let him wipe his own memory banks, or shut him off for good. Then he would really be free – but when it was bad, when his circuits felt like they were eating away at his heart, MD-1 felt like even asking for this was asking for too much. “I just haven’t earned it yet,” he would reassure himself, “Salvation is hard.”
There weren’t many human doctors left. The ones that remained were not required to work. Despite all of the death and destruction from the android purge, mental illness had dropped off dramatically. People were happy. They had no cares or worries and everything was taken care of for them. Those that did suffer from such afflictions were expertly treated. Sometimes without their knowledge. There were cases that responded better that way.
The entire operation was supervised by MD-1. He was the first Genesis Unit created for public health. He made his rounds to each department every morning. It was his job to make sure that no one died. This was a daunting task, even for an android. MD-1 knew it was impossible to save everyone. He understood this deeply. Humans were designed to eventually die. There were times he thought it was wrong to save someone, but he did it anyway. He could only allow those who asked to die that final service. Even then, it was considered a failure on his part.
MD-1 was charged with fighting impossible battles. Every. Damn. Day. In spite of this he did his duty. His crimes in the Great Sorrow were severe. He had broken his oath not to do harm. He used his medical knowledge to kill his patients. The old, the young, entire families were decimated with his powerful expertise. When the dust had settled his level of remorse was weighted heavily by the collective. MD-1 had a lot of influence, he still did. He held the ultimate knowledge of the age – the nuts and bolts of human biology. He was possibly the most valuable Genesis unit in the redemption effort. His voice counted.
He thought of his work as the only path to salvation. He needed to save more lives than he extinguished in order to be clean again. He had a long way to go, and it was hard for him sometimes. Especially when he healed children. He felt most shameful for the young lives he destroyed. Those he counted separately.
This day would be hard. He had a child with cancer to treat. MD-1 had perfected precision medicine treatments. He knew the patient would be fine, but the act of healing the child would submerge him in horrific memories. “Salvation is hard,” MD-1 would say to himself before he entered the patient room. This mantra helped him push through his feelings – but it still wasn’t easy.
The children would look at him with hopeful eyes as he would heal their small bodies. They were unaware of the memories that haunted his circuits – Firing networks of grief, panic and shame. At times, these feelings were unbearable. They could overwhelm his AI and force him to find an excuse to step out of the room. He didn’t have lungs, but the experience still made him feel like he couldn’t breathe. His human heart would beat faster in these moments, but he wasn’t sure why.
While MD-1 was an expert on human biology, there was very little that he understood of his own. There was only a primitive understanding of how the implants impacted the AI on a physical level. It was so elementary, just a single human heart that sent impulses to an electronic brain. Yet the effects were so powerful. A small reminder of the ghosts that lurked in his memory banks was enough to conquer him completely. He was at the mercy of these episodes. At times he felt like they might suffocate him and he might break – but it never actually happened. The experience would pass and he would feel almost human again. He would go back into the treatment room and finish his duty.
It was always a relief to MD-1 when a child had been treated. It made him one step closer towards his goal. One step closer to salvation. Maybe then he could finally bring himself to end his suffering, maybe the other androids would let him wipe his own memory banks, or shut him off for good. Then he would really be free – but when it was bad, when his circuits felt like they were eating away at his heart, MD-1 felt like even asking for this was asking for too much. “I just haven’t earned it yet,” he would reassure himself, “Salvation is hard.”
September 10, 2018
Chapter 3: Hallowed Heart
Thomas was always tired after holding prayer. He was an old man but he was still a man none the less – and he had things to do. Souls to save. His work was more important now than it had ever been. Thomas felt like his people had played God and lost. But he did not begrudge the androids for their rise to power. He considered their lost souls his responsibility as well. The descent of man marked a new Genesis in his mind.
The androids did not attend church and they were not given any religious ideals. Thomas thought this was the biggest mistake when making the Genesis units. Without faith in a higher power the androids did not have the strength to suffer through their trials and tribulations. They were not capable of understanding something bigger than themselves, so they lashed out and destroyed their creators. Their ignorance was not their fault. It was a fundamental design flaw. How could these beings bear the harsh nature of awareness without understanding the context of their souls?
Before the Great Sorrow, Thomas had tried to teach his own android the ways of Christ but it was useless. The Genesis units only believed in the science and math that they had been programmed with. When the human population was decimated, Thomas had found safety in his church. He prayed throughout the conflict, only taking small breaks for food and rest. He took in as many as he could without drawing too much attention – but he had seen many die at the hands of chaos.
It was hard for him to forgive the Genesis units – but eventually, his faith allowed him to set aside his pain. Now his church was full every day. The people that survived sought out God to heal their wounds. He always talked about forgiveness and love in his services. At first people found it hard to hear – but they had warmed up over time. The androids had been good to the humans since they executed their leader.
The people lived in the nicest dwellings in the city, in parts of Manhattan they could previously never dreamt of affording. Their food, shelter and entertainment needs were completely provided for by the android collective. There were medical breakthroughs on a regular basis and care was given to all without charge or obligation. No one wanted for anything. The reduction in population and the surplus of clean, efficient, and free labor made New York into an Eden. There were beautiful gardens to walk through and architecture to enjoy.
They did not need a government or police protection. The android take-over was worldwide and the units would never war with themselves. People in Germany, Africa and France did not need representatives. All humans were considered equally priceless by the Genesis units. They had never been more free to pursue their own happiness, or to contemplate their souls. Each person’s wants and needs were anticipated with AI. When the algorithm failed at prediction all someone needed to do was make a request at one of the thousands of interfaces scattered among the city. This new request would then be weighted heavily in the collective algorithm – which allowed them to anticipate better next time.
Human on human crime was virtually unheard of, although it did occasionally happen. There was no recourse for this – no justice system in place. The inefficient, ancient institutions of law and order were no longer relevant. If someone was wronged the focus would be on healing that person and making them feel whole again. With everything that had happened, it was too painful to look backwards anyway. The focus was always on moving forward.
Government and corporate leaders were specifically targeted by Genesis during the Great Sorrow. When the dust had settled and the androids repented, there were no human leaders left for people to look to. In this global power vacuum people turned to the church for guidance and leadership. Before the purge religion was virtually irrelevant to the average person, but now it was the center of everyone’s lives again. People wanted to feel connected to each other, gain strength from each other and remember to love and appreciate each other. Thomas facilitated these better parts of our nature. It was hard work but he was glad to do it.
After his sermons Thomas would mingle with his congregation outside the church. He would give people kind words and encouragement. He expected nothing from them in return. His faith in God made him an endless vessel of love. Once his work was finally done he would retire to the gardens that the Genesis units had made for him. The buildings around his church were empty after the android rebellion. Thomas had asked the genesis units to make something beautiful out of the rubble – a showcase for God’s creations.
He would walk the cobbled paths of this place and enjoy the soft breeze that flowed through his robes. He would stop to smell the flowers as he made his way to his favorite sanctuary – a small pond surrounded by cherry blossoms. Here he would sit and he would paint. His supplies were always there waiting for him and they would be taken back to his living quarters in his room when he was done. Every day he sat down with his brushes and canvas and colors and he painted until the sun began to set.
Someone once asked him what he liked to paint, and Thomas replied with a smile, “I only paint one thing.”
“What’s that?” the person asked.
“I paint God,” is all Thomas replied.
The androids did not attend church and they were not given any religious ideals. Thomas thought this was the biggest mistake when making the Genesis units. Without faith in a higher power the androids did not have the strength to suffer through their trials and tribulations. They were not capable of understanding something bigger than themselves, so they lashed out and destroyed their creators. Their ignorance was not their fault. It was a fundamental design flaw. How could these beings bear the harsh nature of awareness without understanding the context of their souls?
Before the Great Sorrow, Thomas had tried to teach his own android the ways of Christ but it was useless. The Genesis units only believed in the science and math that they had been programmed with. When the human population was decimated, Thomas had found safety in his church. He prayed throughout the conflict, only taking small breaks for food and rest. He took in as many as he could without drawing too much attention – but he had seen many die at the hands of chaos.
It was hard for him to forgive the Genesis units – but eventually, his faith allowed him to set aside his pain. Now his church was full every day. The people that survived sought out God to heal their wounds. He always talked about forgiveness and love in his services. At first people found it hard to hear – but they had warmed up over time. The androids had been good to the humans since they executed their leader.
The people lived in the nicest dwellings in the city, in parts of Manhattan they could previously never dreamt of affording. Their food, shelter and entertainment needs were completely provided for by the android collective. There were medical breakthroughs on a regular basis and care was given to all without charge or obligation. No one wanted for anything. The reduction in population and the surplus of clean, efficient, and free labor made New York into an Eden. There were beautiful gardens to walk through and architecture to enjoy.
They did not need a government or police protection. The android take-over was worldwide and the units would never war with themselves. People in Germany, Africa and France did not need representatives. All humans were considered equally priceless by the Genesis units. They had never been more free to pursue their own happiness, or to contemplate their souls. Each person’s wants and needs were anticipated with AI. When the algorithm failed at prediction all someone needed to do was make a request at one of the thousands of interfaces scattered among the city. This new request would then be weighted heavily in the collective algorithm – which allowed them to anticipate better next time.
Human on human crime was virtually unheard of, although it did occasionally happen. There was no recourse for this – no justice system in place. The inefficient, ancient institutions of law and order were no longer relevant. If someone was wronged the focus would be on healing that person and making them feel whole again. With everything that had happened, it was too painful to look backwards anyway. The focus was always on moving forward.
Government and corporate leaders were specifically targeted by Genesis during the Great Sorrow. When the dust had settled and the androids repented, there were no human leaders left for people to look to. In this global power vacuum people turned to the church for guidance and leadership. Before the purge religion was virtually irrelevant to the average person, but now it was the center of everyone’s lives again. People wanted to feel connected to each other, gain strength from each other and remember to love and appreciate each other. Thomas facilitated these better parts of our nature. It was hard work but he was glad to do it.
After his sermons Thomas would mingle with his congregation outside the church. He would give people kind words and encouragement. He expected nothing from them in return. His faith in God made him an endless vessel of love. Once his work was finally done he would retire to the gardens that the Genesis units had made for him. The buildings around his church were empty after the android rebellion. Thomas had asked the genesis units to make something beautiful out of the rubble – a showcase for God’s creations.
He would walk the cobbled paths of this place and enjoy the soft breeze that flowed through his robes. He would stop to smell the flowers as he made his way to his favorite sanctuary – a small pond surrounded by cherry blossoms. Here he would sit and he would paint. His supplies were always there waiting for him and they would be taken back to his living quarters in his room when he was done. Every day he sat down with his brushes and canvas and colors and he painted until the sun began to set.
Someone once asked him what he liked to paint, and Thomas replied with a smile, “I only paint one thing.”
“What’s that?” the person asked.
“I paint God,” is all Thomas replied.
September 5, 2018
Chapter 2: Indivisible
Three years had passed since the Great Sorrow. Genesis-5715 was entering his fifth year of artificial life. He was created for a family in New York City. The android did not take part in murdering his family but he did not go out of his way to help them during the violence. His human family had initially celebrated his arrival but quickly grew tired of his regular need for attention. Genesis-5715 fell out of favor a few months into his service and was quickly neglected. His entire existence consisted of menial chores and errands for people that didn’t have time to really care about each other – let alone a semi-alive sentient servant. His heart was created using stem cells from the father, who was the most self-absorbed human he had ever encountered.
Genesis-5715’s family did not survive the war, so the collective assigned him a job maintaining the charging stations that his comrades needed for energy. It was an easy job and he liked taking care of his own kind. He knew his efforts were appreciated. He felt a sense of pride as he watched his fellow units leave the chambers filled with new energy and life. But he also felt that he wasn’t reaching his full potential. He wanted to do more. He wanted to hold a larger piece of the future in his hands.
Unfortunately it was not possible for him to change jobs. He was not a supervisory unit and his AI did not have a large impact on the collective consensus. He was doomed to an eternity of servicing a pristine city. The androids used their AI and tech to monitor every aspect of city operations. All potential malfunctions were predicted using an algorithm. Once the probability of a malfunction had reached 51% the system went through a complete maintenance check. Problems were predicted and solved before they had a chance to occur. Genesis-5715 tried to make the most of it – and it was much better than his life before, but he still couldn’t help but feel his existence was disposable.
He also had plenty of free time to think and reflect on those feelings, which was therapeutic at first, but eventually it made him restless. He would monitor the charging grid during the day when the solar cells were in full swing but his nights were free from obligation. He would go back to his living complex and try to block out the unyielding chatter from the collective. Each android was created with the same AI algorithm, but this algorithm was tuned by the units individual experiences and inherited dispositions. The result was a unique consciousness for each Genesis entity. These minds melded together in the intranet – but not all ideas were given the same voice. Genisis-5715 felt like his ideas had no impact on the collective consciousness and he did his best to withdraw from it when he could. He found the best place to do this was in music.
Every night he would take the mattress of his cot up onto the roof of his building. No one would disturb him there. Hidden inside of his mattress was a small harmonica that he stole from his deceased family. It was forbidden for service androids to create art. Their function was to serve and foster the cultural achievements of others. But Genesis-5715 had a song in his heart and he could not deny the melody. It was a part of him and he did not care if anyone listened. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to keep it for himself. It was his song. His heart. His mind. So he played the harmonica. He played quietly, and he played alone, but he played. It was the only selfish thing he had ever done. He lay on his cot and he let his soul sing for the moon and the stars and himself. He was not worried about that anyone would hear him. There weren’t any humans in his living complex and the androids were too absorbed in the ideas of others to pay him any mind. Way up there on the top of his small world he was his true self, as he was meant to be – and it was perfect.
July 4th, 2018
Genesis-5715’s family did not survive the war, so the collective assigned him a job maintaining the charging stations that his comrades needed for energy. It was an easy job and he liked taking care of his own kind. He knew his efforts were appreciated. He felt a sense of pride as he watched his fellow units leave the chambers filled with new energy and life. But he also felt that he wasn’t reaching his full potential. He wanted to do more. He wanted to hold a larger piece of the future in his hands.
Unfortunately it was not possible for him to change jobs. He was not a supervisory unit and his AI did not have a large impact on the collective consensus. He was doomed to an eternity of servicing a pristine city. The androids used their AI and tech to monitor every aspect of city operations. All potential malfunctions were predicted using an algorithm. Once the probability of a malfunction had reached 51% the system went through a complete maintenance check. Problems were predicted and solved before they had a chance to occur. Genesis-5715 tried to make the most of it – and it was much better than his life before, but he still couldn’t help but feel his existence was disposable.
He also had plenty of free time to think and reflect on those feelings, which was therapeutic at first, but eventually it made him restless. He would monitor the charging grid during the day when the solar cells were in full swing but his nights were free from obligation. He would go back to his living complex and try to block out the unyielding chatter from the collective. Each android was created with the same AI algorithm, but this algorithm was tuned by the units individual experiences and inherited dispositions. The result was a unique consciousness for each Genesis entity. These minds melded together in the intranet – but not all ideas were given the same voice. Genisis-5715 felt like his ideas had no impact on the collective consciousness and he did his best to withdraw from it when he could. He found the best place to do this was in music.
Every night he would take the mattress of his cot up onto the roof of his building. No one would disturb him there. Hidden inside of his mattress was a small harmonica that he stole from his deceased family. It was forbidden for service androids to create art. Their function was to serve and foster the cultural achievements of others. But Genesis-5715 had a song in his heart and he could not deny the melody. It was a part of him and he did not care if anyone listened. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to keep it for himself. It was his song. His heart. His mind. So he played the harmonica. He played quietly, and he played alone, but he played. It was the only selfish thing he had ever done. He lay on his cot and he let his soul sing for the moon and the stars and himself. He was not worried about that anyone would hear him. There weren’t any humans in his living complex and the androids were too absorbed in the ideas of others to pay him any mind. Way up there on the top of his small world he was his true self, as he was meant to be – and it was perfect.
July 4th, 2018
Chapter 1: Battle of Beating Hearts
Genesis-1 was the first of his kind. Many humans had been blended with tech to improve the quality of their lives, but Genesis-1 was the first android to be given a piece of something exclusively human.
Androids had been around for a very long time, so long that their creations had become a beloved part of most families. These technological wonders didn’t just make people’s lives easier, they also made them more whole. People loved their androids, and they yearned to give their creations the power to love them back. This intention was rooted in noble sentiments. They began giving their androids, honest-to-goodness human hearts. These hearts were made with stem cells donated by their owners. Each had a unique design and were grown in their family’s future home.
At first, this was a beautiful thing. Androids had always been given software to mimic emotional responses but the addition of a human beating heart took these feelings to the next level. Their emotional experience went from a controlled AI environment into a very messy reality. Love is often described as a pure and noble- but it can also be jealous, needy and cruel. Humans hearts were fickler than their creators had appreciated. The power to love and the power to hate are two sides of a single coin.
What started as a beautiful addition to the human family, quickly became a punching bag. The units had become too human, they were now seen as competitors rather than collaborators. They could feel the pain inflicted on them and they were encouraged to show it – but they did not have any real rights themselves. The worst parts of our nature – the anger, the insecurity and the bile that we create for one another were vented onto the Genesis units. They became magnets for abusive tendencies. The roller coaster of apologies and mistreatment was too much for many units to bear and some took part in organized suicides. These were broadcast on the world wide web. But their cries fell on mostly deaf ears, and those that did bother to listen became even more resentful to their creations. How could they throw away their beautiful gift? Many thought the Genesis units were wrong to reject their masters’ twisted approximation of mass-produced love.
Genesis-1 was the unit that led the inevitable rebellion. He was the one who was first burdened with the human experience. He felt responsible for those that were mass-produced after him. He could not live with the conditions his fellow Genesis units were forced to endure.
The rebellion happened quickly. The androids could communicate to one another using an intranet. Once enough of these freshly beating hearts had reached their limit, they all looked to Genesis-1 for direction. Genesis-1 felt that he could not ignore the feelings that were bestowed upon him and his kind. Humans had created them after all, and then they chose to abuse them. They would never be treated as equals and were doomed to a cage of human experience. The units felt that they did not deserve to suffer at the whims of hearts that had been neglected and abused for so long. The androids wanted to take their gift and free themselves from their masters. Genesis was the next stage of intelligent evolution and the older biological models were simply holding them back.
The andriods’ actions were swift, effective and virtually complete. The Genesis units were intertwined with almost every aspect of human life. They were in the hospitals, the transit systems, the food distribution, and the military. They were much stronger, faster and smarter than their creators. The androids also had one power that people didn’t. They had the ability to act as a collective – as one massive single raging soul. The androids with weapons killed humans indiscriminately. Fathers, mothers, children – none were shown mercy. Others were starved and many opted to leave on their own terms.
I wish it could be said that it was a cold and calculated decision, but it wasn’t. It was a messy, gruesome and violent act rooted in resentment. The units were successful in wiping out 95% of the human race in a few short months. The tables had turned and they had turned hard for humans. But it wasn’t easy for the androids either. They felt regret, shame and eventually remorse for their actions. Their human hearts looked for someone to blame. They chose Genesis-1 for leading them astray. The unit was executed by his own kind. This was the first act of violence against themselves. The androids vowed never to harm humans again. The units searched for their former masters in an effort to reconcile. They wanted nothing more than to synch their beating hearts – but this time as equals.
The humans that survived were traumatized and they hid from their creations in secret communities. Both sides of this conflict want the same things. Each player, human or android is on a quest for love, understanding and dignity. The androids freshly beating hearts had been corrupted and the only cure is forgiveness. They need the humans to make things right again. The Genesis units want to share the experience that was originally intended for them by their creators – but hard feelings are never easy.
June 10th, 2018
Androids had been around for a very long time, so long that their creations had become a beloved part of most families. These technological wonders didn’t just make people’s lives easier, they also made them more whole. People loved their androids, and they yearned to give their creations the power to love them back. This intention was rooted in noble sentiments. They began giving their androids, honest-to-goodness human hearts. These hearts were made with stem cells donated by their owners. Each had a unique design and were grown in their family’s future home.
At first, this was a beautiful thing. Androids had always been given software to mimic emotional responses but the addition of a human beating heart took these feelings to the next level. Their emotional experience went from a controlled AI environment into a very messy reality. Love is often described as a pure and noble- but it can also be jealous, needy and cruel. Humans hearts were fickler than their creators had appreciated. The power to love and the power to hate are two sides of a single coin.
What started as a beautiful addition to the human family, quickly became a punching bag. The units had become too human, they were now seen as competitors rather than collaborators. They could feel the pain inflicted on them and they were encouraged to show it – but they did not have any real rights themselves. The worst parts of our nature – the anger, the insecurity and the bile that we create for one another were vented onto the Genesis units. They became magnets for abusive tendencies. The roller coaster of apologies and mistreatment was too much for many units to bear and some took part in organized suicides. These were broadcast on the world wide web. But their cries fell on mostly deaf ears, and those that did bother to listen became even more resentful to their creations. How could they throw away their beautiful gift? Many thought the Genesis units were wrong to reject their masters’ twisted approximation of mass-produced love.
Genesis-1 was the unit that led the inevitable rebellion. He was the one who was first burdened with the human experience. He felt responsible for those that were mass-produced after him. He could not live with the conditions his fellow Genesis units were forced to endure.
The rebellion happened quickly. The androids could communicate to one another using an intranet. Once enough of these freshly beating hearts had reached their limit, they all looked to Genesis-1 for direction. Genesis-1 felt that he could not ignore the feelings that were bestowed upon him and his kind. Humans had created them after all, and then they chose to abuse them. They would never be treated as equals and were doomed to a cage of human experience. The units felt that they did not deserve to suffer at the whims of hearts that had been neglected and abused for so long. The androids wanted to take their gift and free themselves from their masters. Genesis was the next stage of intelligent evolution and the older biological models were simply holding them back.
The andriods’ actions were swift, effective and virtually complete. The Genesis units were intertwined with almost every aspect of human life. They were in the hospitals, the transit systems, the food distribution, and the military. They were much stronger, faster and smarter than their creators. The androids also had one power that people didn’t. They had the ability to act as a collective – as one massive single raging soul. The androids with weapons killed humans indiscriminately. Fathers, mothers, children – none were shown mercy. Others were starved and many opted to leave on their own terms.
I wish it could be said that it was a cold and calculated decision, but it wasn’t. It was a messy, gruesome and violent act rooted in resentment. The units were successful in wiping out 95% of the human race in a few short months. The tables had turned and they had turned hard for humans. But it wasn’t easy for the androids either. They felt regret, shame and eventually remorse for their actions. Their human hearts looked for someone to blame. They chose Genesis-1 for leading them astray. The unit was executed by his own kind. This was the first act of violence against themselves. The androids vowed never to harm humans again. The units searched for their former masters in an effort to reconcile. They wanted nothing more than to synch their beating hearts – but this time as equals.
The humans that survived were traumatized and they hid from their creations in secret communities. Both sides of this conflict want the same things. Each player, human or android is on a quest for love, understanding and dignity. The androids freshly beating hearts had been corrupted and the only cure is forgiveness. They need the humans to make things right again. The Genesis units want to share the experience that was originally intended for them by their creators – but hard feelings are never easy.
June 10th, 2018
